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Introduction This wiki looks into all aspects of Video Chat, and the way this new technology affects us. Our group has studied the technology, history, issues, benefits and other characteristics of video chat. Please explore the wiki for information and insight on this new, influential technology and the way society has adopted it. Index #Technology #History #Issues #Benefits #Additional Details #Links #References Technology *Rough Draft* What is Video Chat? A virtual communication, that allows for an audio-video connection in real time between two or more users, who are at different locations. Using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), webcams and specialized software a stimulation of a face-to-face conversation can be created. These platforms allow users to see and message one another simultaneously making it easier to convey information. Users have the ability to file and screen share through video sharing sites, allowing for the reciepient to not only get a tangible product but can also watch what the other is doing. Making video chatting an effective way for a speaker/company to convey information to a large audience as it is happening. Many of the software avaible is inexpensive, seeing as phones, laptops, and tablets all have built in cameras, the users only needs to have access to the Internet and an account. An account for most video software is free with the option of addictional charges. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) *Voice communications and multimedia sessions that user Internet Protocol networks to communicate The Webcam *1994 quick cam *Stationary, personal, camera that uses the Internet to send video and audio. *Can be tethered, however, they are more commonly untethered, using Wifi or other networks to allow users to communicate. *Untethered webcams represented half of all the video camera sales in 2008 *Flip Cams *Some have the ability to store small amount of information *Useful for social networking Video Phone Skype *A Microsoft product *First released in August 2003 by developers Ahti Heinla, Pritt Kasealu, Jan Tallinn, JAnus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom *As of 2010, 663 million registered users *Users VoIP *Peer-to-peer driven as well as a client-server system *"Calling, seeinging messaging and sharing with others - wherever they are." *Free Services **Video and Voice calling **Latest updates **Instant messaging and file sharing *Quality - focus on the video *Optional Paid services **Calls to mobiles and landlines worldwide **Send text messages **Group calling up to 10 people **2.7 cents per minute **Subscriptions from $2.99 a month **12.6 cents a message *Users can use the application on multiple different technologies such as a laptop, phone, tablet, TV, home phone and Facebook. *"Send a message you can see, here and feel with video messaging." **Has a feature that allows you to leave a contact a video message *Screen sharing FaceTime *Apple product **Supported on iOS products *Announched on October 20, 2010 **Brought to the App Store on Feb. 24, 2011 for $0.99, however, is offered free on Mac OS Lion onwards *Uses VoIP *"... You can even make FaceTime calls over cellular networks on iPhone and iPad. And be there in person, even when you're not." *Connected to your personal Apple ID **FaceTime is included with Apple products, all you have to do is activate it *Two camera **The recipient can either view you or see what you are viewing *Incompatible with non-Apple devices or other video calling services *FaceTime Audio **Audio only verson released on September 18, 2013 History The history of video chat starts with the invention of the telephone and in the imagination of the audience the telephone inspired. Ever since that famous 1876 conversation culture had imagined a world with video communication and has made many appearences throughout science fiction history. However, the technical requirments to make video chat a reality was tough let alone make a video chat which worked as flawlessly as sci-fi depicted it. The road to smooth and reliable video chat is long a filled with multiple technical feats and innovations, but, its origins were in the work of french illustrator George du Maurier in 1878. '1876' On October 9, 1876 the first two way telephone conversation took place between the inventor Alexander Graham Bell in Walworth Boston and thomas G. Watson in Cambridgeport Massachusetts. This is a conversation which lit up the imagination of the global community and sparked the imaginations of many about what is technically possible.This telephone call as well as moving picture technology were brought together by the imagination George du Maurier, illustrator of the British magazine Punch. In 1878 he famously illustrated the first concept of a video conversation using aspects of projection and telephony to depict parents observing their children playing. This concept became popularized in victorian sci-fi and was recreated in many avenues such as postcards. The popularity of this theoretical technology became very prolific in sci-fi media throught history. A few examples of video chat in sci-fi are exemplified in Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927), The Jetsons (1962), and Stanley Kubrick's 2001A Space Odyssey (1968). '1956- Bell Laboratories' After many years of dreaming of videotelephony (aka video chat) AT&T built its first test syetem in 1956 in its famous Bell labs. However, the first system was very crude and only transmitted an image every two seconds, far from the hype of video chat depicted in sci-fi. In 1964 the Bell labs developed their first system fit for public testing called the 'mod 1'. Stations were set up in Disneyland in California and the New York Worlds Fair to see how the public would take to the device. The general consensus was of dislike as it impressed at first but, was far too bulky, had unfriendly controls, and a very small picture. AT&T continued to improve on the device but, it seemed the technical sublim the device had in fiction greatly outweighted the reality. Between the 50s and 70s AT&T spent over $500 million on development and it was not until 1970 did a retail product hit the market. In the 1970's the picturephone 2 (mod 2) was released to the public for retail. It was extpensive at $169 per month the equilivent of $1000 per month today once adjusted for inflation. It was an immense failure with only 100 subscribers in the entire United States. '1980's Digital Telephony and Videoconferencing' Bell labs began their transition to digital telephony win 1947 with their invention of the transistor, followed by innovations such as amplification and circuit switchingin the 1950's. The development of computer based electronic switching systems progressed the telephone to move away from analog systems to a digital automated infrastructure. IP (internet protocol) telephony involving digital network technology was known as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) allowed for the revolutionary development of PictureTel corps. first videoconferencing technology. ' '''On August 13th 1984 PictureTel Corp. was was founded by MIT students Brian L. Hinman, and Jeffery G. Bernstein; and MIT professor David H. Staelin. Their company would become the leading manufacturer of video conferencing technologyfor use over conventional high-speed phone lines. This would change the buisness world as video conferencing although wasn't cheap, was far cheaper than time and travel exprensess. Their initial public offering occured in 1984 and sold 2.2 million shares at $2 per share. They continued developing their product well through to 1985 without having a product to sell. A breakthroug occured in 1986 with their development of the MCT algorithm which reduced the required bandwith to a mere 224 kilobytes from an initial 768 required to videochat. on July 1986 they quickly rolled out their first video conferencing product a software based codec called C-2000 and utilized their MCT algorithm. Their next product was the V-2100 which conveniently enclosed the video conferencing system in a wheeled cabinet which could set up a conference in any room with adequet wiring. This technology was the first profitable video chat system available to the public as it was widely liked by large corperations that have multiple offices in various locations. Their final big innovation occured in 1993 with a PC based video conferencing technology which could turn any PC into a video chat system. '1990's AT&T continued to push for a video phone and released the 2500 model in 1992 but, like previous iterations it was expensive at $1500 and the video lagged about 5 seconds behind the sound. Video chat systems on phones would not be popularized until the power of Smartphones could eliminate the lag issues. In 1994 a pivitol invention of the Quickcam by Connectix occured, although, it would not be advertised as such the Quickcam became the first webcam for a mass market. Videoconferencing had already existed at this point for large companies this was the first real affordable video chat technology available to the public. It was only available for Apple Macintosh for $100, and had a range of only 16 shades of gret, resolution of 320x240, and a frame rate of 15 fps. Despite the lack luster specs of the Quickcam compared to today's webcams it was a huge leap and facilitated the webcam culture of today. It was even recognized in 2010 when it was elected in Time Magazine's ''top 100 gadgets of all time. Quickcam was acquired by Logitech in 1998 and is still one of the most recognized webcam brands today. In 1996 Panasonic experimented with its first prototpye of a cell phone with video chat capabilities. '2000's ''' It is in the 2000's when the popularization of video chat began with free web services such as Skype and iChat. In august 2003 Skype was created by Ahti Heinla, Prit Kasesalu, Jaan Tallinn, Janus Friis, and Niklas Zennstrom; original developers of Kazaa a peer-to-peer file sharing service similar to Napster. The name Skype originates from sky peer-to-peer as the service uses a client service to run its network. This allowed Skype to handle large numbers of users without needing large pricy servers as the service would only become more stable as more people joined the network. It was a huge success and by 2010 Skype boasted 663 million users. Skype is primarily a video chat service but, has instant messaging, video conferencing capabilities, file transfer sevice, and could even make traditional landline calls which would be charged to a credit card. Its popularity grew because it was expremely affordable as you could make free calls to anywhere in the world with an internet connection. Even news programs and tv shaws such as Opera opted to use Skype rather than traditional video conferencing sytems for video chatting and conducting interviews. With the speed and power now available in modern smartphones videocchat is available at the palm of your hand. In the 2010 keynote speech for the iPhone 4 it was announced the videochat service Facetime would be equipped in each device, allowing iPhone 4 users to video chat for free wherever they had a wifi connection. Facetime has recently expanded to be equipped in the most recent iteration of the iPad as well and is standard in all of Apple's mobile devices. This is really the first time since AT&T began attempts at the videophone has video chat technologies actually been able to capture the expectations science fiction had so long ago. Issues Video chat is a great communication tool when it works, but like most new technologies it is prone to lagging, working slowly, and is exceptioanlly frusturating when it doens't work properly. If there is lag or sound issues communication is impossible, unlike speaking in person where barriers in communicastion do not always stop it's effectiveness entirely. Video Chat relied completely on the technology working without failure in any respect, as effective communication is impossible if all aspects are not working in tandem. Mobile phone users know that video chatting on their phones eats up battery life and data minutes far faster than a text message or a phone call, and often the quality of the image is lacking. This is because the image bneeds to be compressed as video applications try not to use too much bandwidth. Group conversations are also ex exceptionally difficult as when numerous people speak at once their voices become hard to understand and communication is lost. One to many commnuication is the only kind of group discussion that works with group chat, because as soon as many people try to be heard at once the clarity spirals and you are left missing much of what the opther person is saying. This is especially true in businessmeetings, which often include larger groups of people, each with important things to say. If someone feels in a business metting that they cannot speak and be heard due to the video chat technology, ideas are likely to be missed and the business metting will not be as effective. The demand for video chat technology is increasing faster than the technology can be created, so we are left with lagging applications that use up bandwidth and battery life. Benefits '''Communication The introduction of video chat has helped to decrease lack of emotion within digital communication. Scientists claim that 72% of communication is non-verbal, and with other forms of digital media only strictly verbal communication is possible. Strictly verbal communication causes a lack of emotion, and conclusively a lack of comprehension. Video chat has improved the power of communication because it allows for the opportunity to see the other party’s face and hear the tone in their voice. The ability to see the other party’s face and voice brings an intimacy to the conversation that no other digital communication platform can provide. Video chat diminishes the time and space bias, allowing individuals who live thousands of miles away to feel like they are face-to-face. Video chat acts as a substitute to interact closely with those that are so far apart. The ability to hear their voice and see their face adds an extra sense of intimacy that is incomparable to any other communication platform. Video chat is also being used as an extra aspect to safety on the internet. Within chat rooms and online dating, recipients are exposed to identity fraud; the individual knows nothing of the other person except what they tell them. This has escalated to men and women claiming they are the opposite sex, or an age far from their reality. Online Video Chat dating has been introduced, allowing for two people to get to know each other face-to-face in the comfort of their own homes. This aspect of communication adds security to the online dating world. In very unexpected ways video chat is used to communicate with the blind. In one astounding example a man who went blind at the age of 52 connects a camera to himself, and is constantly attached to an ear piece, and a recipient watches his video stream – which pictures his surroundings – and guides him through his day. This has allowed the man to even partake in activities like skiing. A blind man can now live his life as though he has eyes. Education Video Chat has evolved to become an online classroom. Within video conferencing one person holds the ability to talk, show, and experiment with one other person, but they can also do this with hundreds in video conferencing. The video conferencing, as well as one-on-one video chatting allows for two-way mediation. The students’ holds the ability to instant message back, and/or speak back to the individual teaching. Video chatting allows people to communicate with other they would not necessarily have the opportunity to otherwise. Video Chat franchise Skype, monopolizes Skype for the means of education. With the use of Skype, musical educators give lessons around the world. One musical teacher teaches the flute to students in Israel via Skype. In another example teachers internationally use Skype to allow their students to interact with other students in different countries. Through Skype’s website, it shows examples of how teachers utilize Skype to enhance the education of their students. Students in Canada now hold discussions with students in South Korea; brainstorming culturally different answers to questions for their assignments. Students now hold the opportunity to discuss and hear different cultural viewpoints they would have otherwise never been exposed to. Even the process of education is changing due to the technology of video chat. Video chat diminishes geographical barriers; two people who are worlds apart can interact face-to-face. Additional Details **ROUGH Video chatting has become more and more prevelant in our personal lives. No longer is it constricted to use by the business world. Over the past few years, there have been a few major developments in social video chatting: Snapchat *photo/video messaging ap p developed by Stanford University students. *a time limit is set for how long recip ients can view their snaps (1-10 seconds is protocol), then it is hidden from the device and deleted from the server *controversy- sexting, nude images *benefit/downfall- lifespan of videos, erased right away EXCEPT My story, which can be viewed endlessly by the recipients Chatroulette/Omegle *pairs random people form around the world in webcam-based chats *concerns............ inappropriate content *in this case anonymity is a negative and positive ***same with Omegle, discuss Portable North Pole (Apple Application) *Apple's program that allows people to pay for a personal message to be delivered (online) from Santa to a loved one. *cuts travel costs, keeps ties without too much effort *neoliberalist buying into market to solve problems/distnace * U-Stream *one to many video chat *one person video chats and audience, responds to text that audience sends in, audience does not appear on video Xbox One *now using Skype (owned by Microsoft) *video chatting up to four participants..... connecting people in a leisure envirnoment *autozoom to feel more personal (frame body/head) *just an application, not a part of Kinect software (constant updates needed) *video chat integration plus streaming capabilities ......all impersonal forms of video chat, with the exception of maybe Xbox skype chats. Fixes for boredom more than a way of connecting with people Links http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-video-chat-group-communications-69585.html References Muchmore, Michael. "Skype 4.0." Editorial. PC 14 Feb. 2009: n. pag.Pcmag.com. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. "Skype Home Page." Skype. N.p., 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. Category:Browse